Islanders Show Anger As Slump Grows to 14

By JOE LAPOINTE, Special to The New York Times

Published: March 16, 1990

PHILADELPHIA, March 15—
Of the Islanders' 11 defeats and three ties in their 14-game slump, tonight's 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers was among the most maddening. One Islander showed his frustration at the final buzzer with a display of temper that might draw a review from league authorities.

The Islanders, one short of their franchise record for futility, fell behind, 3-1, early in the second period, but stormed back to take a 4-3 lead with 7 minutes 18 seconds to play.

But Philadelphia got the next two goals, the second on a power play by Ilkka Sinisalo with 31 seconds left.

Controversial Penalty

The Islanders didn't think Referee Bill McCreary should have given the Flyers the man advantage by penalizing Joe Reekie for holding at 18:39. Doug Crossman, another Islander defenseman, showed his displeasure as the game ended by sending a hockey stick in McCreary's direction.

After consulting with his linesmen, McCreary gave Crossman a 10-minute gross misconduct penalty. Matt Pavelich, the officiating supervisor on duty, said the incident would be written in the official report of the game. Further review is up to the league.

The Islanders, who last won on Feb. 10, are in fifth place in the Patrick Division, 2 points behind the Washington Capitals, who hold the final playoff berth. The Flyers, who ended a four-game losing streak, are in sixth place, 2 points behind the Islanders. In six games against the Islanders this season, the Flyers have four victories and two ties.

''When push comes to shove, we aren't there,'' said Coach Al Arbour of the Islanders. ''We search for ways to lose and we certainly find them.''

Arbour called the penalty call against Reekie ''very questionable, at that time of the game.'' After his players rallied to take the lead, Arbour said ''everyone was very pleased with themselves,'' before letting down.

The Flyers took a 3-1 lead on goals by Ken Linseman, Gord Murphy and Pelle Eklund. All the Islanders had was Hubie McDonough's 19th.

Could Have Been Worse

The Islanders were outshot by 15-4 in the first 10 minutes and by 19-8 for the period. After the third Philadelphia goal, the goaltender Glenn Healy was briefly relieved by Mark Fitzpatrick. Twenty-six seconds later, Healy skated back from the bench to resume his position.

The Islanders cut the lead to 3-2 at 9:28 of the second period on Alan Kerr's 12th of the season, assisted by Randy Wood and Ken Baumgartner. They made it 3-3 at 5:35 of the third on Wood's 23d of the season, a personal best. It was set up by Pat LaFontaine, who also assisted on Brent Sutter's 25th at 12:42, on a power play, to give the Islanders a 4-3 lead.

The Flyers are trying to avoid their first sub-.500 season since 1971-1972, which is also the last time they failed to qualify for post-season play. A year later, the Islanders, in their first season, set the club record of 15 consecutive games without a victory.